Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Granite Construction (GVA) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Construction sector should help us answer this question.
Granite Construction is a member of our Construction group, which includes 90 different companies and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Granite Construction is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GVA's full-year earnings has moved 8.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, GVA has gained about 0.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of -4.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Granite Construction is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Construction sector, Trane Technologies (TT), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14.6%.
In Trane Technologies' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Granite Construction belongs to the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, a group that includes 10 individual stocks and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.1% so far this year, so GVA is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
On the other hand, Trane Technologies belongs to the Building Products - Air Conditioner and Heating industry. This 7-stock industry is currently ranked #26. The industry has moved +5.6% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track Granite Construction and Trane Technologies. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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